Quality Time
by Babboo
Summary: A short, but cute fanfic about Vegeta as he handles one of the many aspects of fatherhood.


  
  
Hi there! Well, I've finally decided to give fanfic writing a try. This is my second attempt. I've only seen snippets of DBZ, so please forgive any glaring mistakes or errors on my part. I just thought this would be a nice little story that came to me last night. It's a short fanfic about Vegeta, as he handles one of the many aspects of fatherhood.  
  
  
Quality Time  
  
  
Vegeta stretched languidly in his bed, after spending "quality time" with his wife,   
Bulma. She was sleeping peacefully, curled up against his chest, with a satisfied cat-like grin on her face. No matter how many times they fought, making up was always worth it. He reached over to touch her smooth cheek. Even after 15 years of marriage, she was still as beautiful as ever. He smiled to himself. If Bulma ever found out how he felt about her, he would never hear the end of it. Of all the females in the galaxy, it was just his luck to find a mate who was just as vain and stubborn as he was.   
  
"Papa?" a little girl's voice called out from the other side of the room.  
  
Vegeta whipped his head over to the doorway, surprised to find his daughter standing there.  
Five year old Bra, was holding her favorite teddy bear in one arm and had her index finger in her mouth, looking at her father questioningly. He sat up, being careful not disturb Bulma.  
  
"Bra, what are you doing here? You're supposed to be asleep."  
  
She walked over to him and climbed into his lap, much to his chagrin. For some absurd reason, he could never say no to his daughter. Bra had inherited her mother's uncanny ability to have a hold of his heartstrings.  
  
"I can't sleep. Tell me a bedtime story."  
  
Vegeta looked at her in horror. Bulma was always the one who coddled the brats. The prince of all Saiya-jins did NOT tell bedtime stories.  
  
"Go back to bed," he grunted. "I don't tell bedtime stories."  
  
"Pretty please?" Bra petitioned sweetly, looking at him with those big blue eyes.  
  
Vegeta reluctantly felt the ice around his heart begin to melt. Damn. The proud heir to the throne of Vegetasei, reduced to nothing by a little girl, who didn't even have to try.  
  
"You don't want mama to tell you a story?"  
  
Bra shook her head.  
  
"Mama always tells me stories. I want YOU to tell me this time."  
  
"Okay, okay. Let's see, how does that woman begin...oh yeah, once upon a time, there were 3 little bears that lived in a shoe, and the youngest bear said, 'my, what big eyes you have...'"  
  
"Papa, that's not right," Bra protested.  
  
"I don't know any stories."  
  
"Tell me how you met mama."  
  
Vegeta's cheeks turned bright pink.  
  
"Are you sure you don't want your mama to..." he began to protest.  
  
"You promised," the cute little girl reminded him.  
  
"I'll tell you another story. It's about a prince and his princess."  
  
"Goody! I love fairytales!"  
  
"There once was a handsome, strong, and invincible prince of a warrior race who was the greatest fighter in the universe. He was feared and envied by everyone. Everyone, except a beautiful princess who thought that he was no better than the next person. She didn't care that he was a royal prince from a superior race, or that he was the most powerful being in all the universe."  
  
"Was the prince as strong as you, papa?" Bra asked inquisitively.  
  
"Almost. Now, even though the princess was beautiful, she had this annoying habit of being loud and bossy all of the time, which drove the prince crazy."  
  
Vegeta stopped suddenly, when he heard a faint, but distinct noise, as if someone were grinding their teeth angrily. He looked over to Bulma who appeared to be fast asleep. He smirked evilly, deciding to have a little fun with her.  
  
"The princess was also a terrible cook and she was always causing everyone to flee in terror. Even the strongest warrior could not stand to be in her presence whenever she got angry."  
  
Bra giggled uncontrollably. The princess sounded just like mama.  
  
"But one day, the prince hurt himself very badly. To his surprise, he woke up to find that the princess had taken care of his wounds and stayed with him until he got better. That was when the prince began to care for the princess, and he knew that she had begun to care for him as well. For the first time in his life, he fell in love."  
  
"Did they live happily ever after?"  
  
Vegeta smirked at her.  
  
"What do YOU think?"  
  
"Everybody knows that all fairytales have happy endings. That was a good story, papa. Thank you," Bra replied, kissing him on the cheek.  
  
Vegeta just picked her up and brought her back to her own room, and watched over her until the little girl fell asleep. When he came back to his bed, Bulma was still sleeping. He slipped under the covers, trying not to wake her up. As he closed his eyes, he felt Bulma kiss his cheek lovingly, just as Bra had done.  
  
"What was that for?" he demanded.  
  
"That was for being there for your daughter when she needed you...and just for being you."  
  
"Hmph. I will never understand you humans."  
  
"Sometimes things don't always have to make sense," she replied, running her fingers lightly over his rock solid chest.  
  
"Whatever. Can I get some sleep now?"  
  
"As you wish...my 'handsome, strong, and invincible prince'," Bulma quoted from the story he told Bra.   
She chuckled when she saw the embarrassed look on her husband's face. It had taken every ounce of self-control not to burst out laughing, as she pretended to be asleep.  
  
"You...heard everything?"  
  
Bulma rested her chin on top of her hands as they rested on Vegeta's chest.  
  
"EVERYTHING," she replied silkily.  
  
"It was just a stupid story. I only told it so that Bra would go back to bed. It didn't mean anything."  
  
She let out a longsuffering and patient sigh. Heaven forbid, that Vegeta would ever admit openly that he cared for his family. But at least he did care for them. He proved that time and time again with future Trunks against Cell and during his fight with Majin Buu. In the end, did anything else really matter?  
  
"Of course, Vegeta. Whatever you say. Goodnight," she replied before nestling into the crook of his arm.  
  
Vegeta breathed a sigh of relief. Whew, that was a close one.  
  
"Oh, and one more thing," Bulma said, just as he was about to fall asleep.  
  
"What now?" he asked irritably.  
  
"Since you were SOOOO good with Bra tonight, you won't mind taking care of her while I'm away on that business trip next week with Trunks."  
  
"Nani?! (What?!) I will do no such thing! I am not a nursemaid!"  
  
"Do you want that precious gravity room of yours to keep working?" she asked sweetly.  
  
"You wouldn't dare..."  
  
Bulma just grinned evilly and went to sleep.  
  
That will teach him to call me loud and bossy.  
  
  
The End  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
